The Streaming Media 100: The One Hundred Companies that Matter Most in Online Video in 2014

This year’s Streaming Media 100 marks the fourth time we’ve put together our list of the most interesting, important, and influential companies in the online video industry, and the only consistent thing about it has been how significantly it changes from year to year.

Each year, we’ve had to get more focused in our approach as we narrow the list of companies whose work impacts online video down to a manageable (but still considerable) 250-plus companies that our writers and staff vote on. This year, we’ve refined our “first-cut” criteria even further, deciding to focus only on companies that create products, technologies, and services that enable either end users or other vendors in the industry to improve a piece of the online video value chain, whether that’s for image capture, encoding, distribution, or consumer consumption. Some of the companies on the list address just a single link in that value chain; however, many of the companies here have become known more and more for applying themselves to multiple pieces.

With that initial list of more than 250 chosen by Streaming Media staff, we then ask our regular contributors to rank each company on a scale of 1 (doesn’t belong on the final list at all) to 5 (no list would be complete without it). When all of the nine voters’ rankings were averaged, only one company this year scored a perfect 5, though 23 scored a 4 or better. All of the companies, however, scored at least a 3.

Reflecting a year of acquisitions and consolidation, 24 companies that made the list last year (including a few that have made the top 100 each year since the list’s inception) didn’t make it this year. Of course, that means 24 new entrants are here, most of which have never made the list before. In some cases, they’re longtime players in the industry who appear this year under a different name. In most instances, though, these new entrants are companies that have slowly but surely built up their reputations and finally broke through to the top for the first time in 2014.

It’s a diverse bunch, as diverse as the industry it represents, and the wealth of new entrants (up from 17 changes last year) reflects that even as the industry matures, it’s still welcoming dozens of startups each year, even as some sectors within it are undergoing some degree of commoditization and stabilization. If I had to make a prediction for next year, I’d guess that we’ll see even more new names.

Congratulations to all the companies on this elite list, and thanks to the Streaming Media contributors who joined me in helping us create it:

The list that sets the standard is back. Streaming Media presents its authoritative list of the most important companies in the online video industry, the ones leading us into the future. Our fast-changing industry is reflected in a list with plenty of new names.

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Presenting our annual list of the companies that matter most in online video. In the fiercely competitive streaming media space, these companies are doing jaw-dropping work today and leading us into tomorrow.